A visual exploration of the conceptual architecture behind n8n — mapping 7,887 issues, 995 contributors, and 5 knowledge domains into a living ontology.
The ontology isn't just an academic exercise. Here's what these patterns mean if you're building on n8n, planning around it, or deciding whether to adopt it.
Each visualization that follows tells a partial truth. The word cloud tells you what people talk about. The heatmap tells you when. The funnel tells you how fast things resolve. The domain cards tell you where issues cluster. But none of them individually tell you what to do.
The real ontology — the one that matters — isn't the nodes and edges in a force graph. It's the interpretive layer that sits above all the data and says "these three things together mean this." "Pin your version" can't be read from a single chart. It emerges from crossing domain keywords with issue volume with resolution patterns. "Don't block on upstream" comes from crossing the 94% resolution rate against the 220-day "Needs Feedback" average — a tension that only reveals itself when you look across the data, not at it.
This is the gap most teams fall into. They have dashboards. They have metrics. They have graphs. What they don't have is the cross-cutting interpretation that turns signals into strategy. Understanding how data points relate to each other — not just what each one says in isolation — is what helps us build a map of what's actually happening. And that map is what lets us improve how we understand, build, and improve upon our work.
The insights below are that map. The evidence follows in the sections after.
n8n is a mature, actively maintained platform with strong resolution rates (94%) and a professional development cadence. The predictable risk areas are node integrations, authentication, and version upgrades. Teams should architect for resilience at integration boundaries, pin versions, and monitor auth health proactively. The fast resolution rate means the community and core team are responsive — but only if you stay out of the "Needs Feedback" queue.
n8n's ontology emerges from the patterns in its development history. Five interconnected domains form the conceptual backbone, with entities, processes, and relationships woven between them. Click and drag nodes to explore.
The vocabulary of n8n's issues reveals what matters most. Size reflects frequency — these are the conceptual building blocks of n8n's world.
Topic modeling reveals five distinct knowledge domains within n8n. Each represents a cluster of related concepts, concerns, and activities — together forming the complete ontology of the platform.
How well is each domain of the ontology being maintained? The resolution funnel and health metrics reveal the living state of the system.
From creation to resolution — tracking the lifecycle of every issue.
How quickly issues move through the system.
Multi-dimensional health across key metrics.
Which areas take longest to resolve?
The people who build n8n form their own ontology — a network of expertise and collaboration. Node size reflects contribution volume; connections show shared issue work.
Issues flow through labels like water through channels — from teams to states, from creation to closure. This Sankey view shows the major pathways.
n8n's ontology isn't static — it's a living system that has grown exponentially. From a small open-source project to a platform with 173K+ stars.
When does the n8n community create issues? A heatmap of activity by day and hour.